Taxi! (1931)

The Worst Film Ever

hyped garbage

best movie i've ever seen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This was a fairly interesting story which needed a plot twist or two for a better rating. It was predictable and somewhat dated as it is a prohibition era story and is very old-fashioned in many aspects. Cagney is a hack driver and Loretta Young is his girl friend who becomes his wife. He has a volatile temper which spills over at the slightest provocation and gets him into trouble. It also causes him to slap Young around and evidently is an excuse to use this picture to hone Cagney's tough-guy image as he defeats the Taxi Union. The viewer will wonder why she stays with him throughout the film, but as a 30's movie it probably passed for normal to audiences of the time.Film buffs will recognize several familiar faces of 30's movies. David Landau plays his usual bad guy role, George E. Stone is Cagney's pal and Guy Kibbee is Young's father. No new ground is broken in Taxi! and the story has been used before, but it is a chance for a glimpse at pre-code Hollywood and some of the stars of long ago.

It's Cagney at his most energetic. He better be because he's trying to survive New York's cut-throat taxi competition. It's the big fish, like Consolidated Cab Co., trying to eat smaller ones, like Cagney's Matt Nolan, while the Depression era jungle festers outside. Consolidated's already killed old Pop Riley (Kibbee) and left his daughter (Young) vulnerable, that is, until Cagney steps in. But when they kill Cagney's brother, he swears a vendetta, and we know what happens when the Irishman gets angry. Now it's mano-y-mano with Consolidated's brutal Buck Gerard (Landau).Fortunately, Young's unforced sweetness manages to hold its own amidst Cagney's human dynamo that sweeps up the rest of the film. Needed comic relief is supplied by sarcastic waitress Ruby (Bennett) with a voice like a squeaky tire and an accent right off Brooklyn's streets, which leaves poor Skeets (Stone) with little to do but meekly follow the dynamo around.It's noteworthy that Cagney's Matt Nolan is not particularly likable. He's belligerent, aggressive and completely self-assured, not exactly qualities that invite affection. But then, the actor always seemed more interested in being persuasive rather than likable, a rare quality for a star. Nonetheless, there is that compelling Cagney charismaAll in all, the two leads are the whole show since the plot is typical hard-boiled Warner's fare of the period. But then, for Cagney fans, that's more than enough.

Electric is a Word You could use to Describe the Screen Presence of James Cagney. Here He is Plugged In and is Typical of His Early Thirties Movies where He makes the Movie Sizzle with His Rapid Dialog and Pithy Comebacks.He is a Dynamo in this Clunky Story that Veers of the Road on Occasion but Never Manages to be Boring. There is a lot Packed into the Short Running Time with Romance getting in the way of Revenge. Cagney's Temper and Loretta Young's Inability to Control it, makes an On Again Off Again Love Affair that is a bit Strained and Her Motivations may be at Times Questionable.When Cagney balls up His Fist and Plants it in Loretta's Face and says..."If I thought you meant it!" Smacks of Dated Spousal Abuse Stuff but was Common Until Feminism. Think Jackie Gleason's "One of these days Alice, Bang-Zoom".Overall an Exciting and Lively Movie with a Pre-Code Backdrop (Loretta Strips/Some Chorus Girl Skin) that is Worth a Watch for Cagney Alone but there are other Things Peppering this Early Sounder that make it a Small Nugget for its Time.

It's obvious that this is one of Jimmy Cagney's earlier films, as he never would have been handed a script quite this cheap and clichéd if it had been done just a few years later. Now the usual Cagney-type character is present, but he's even stupider, more brash and head-strong than the lovable mug we came to love during this decade. The bottom line is that too often, Cagney plays a big jerk and it's hard to feel any connection or care about him. Plus, the film has so many plot holes and logical errors that I would consider this one of Cagney's worst films.Jimmy plays a cabbie, though apart from the first few minutes of the film, little taxi cab related action occurs. When the film begins, a rival cab company is trying to muscle in on the independent cabbies' routes and violence results--and naturally, Cagney kicks butt. But even after this rivalry ends, Cagney seems like a total jerk--wanting to fight with anyone and everyone for practically no reason at all. At the same time, he falls for nice Loretta Young, who only 30 seconds earlier he'd threaten to beat up as well! In fact, there really is no transition. One minute he's threatening her and she slaps him, the next they are going steady!! Huh?!?! And, while they are dating, again and again, Loretta tells him she's breaking up with him because he's too pugnacious--but she always immediately forgives him and even marries the big dope! So apparently, Young's character is an idiot.Later, Cagney's brother is murdered and Cagney vows revenge. However, and this part is impossible to believe, Young helps the murderer to try to flee the country because she doesn't want Cagney to go to jail for killing him. Why she didn't just call the cops is beyond me, as the police KNEW who'd committed the murder and were looking for him. Think about it. Would you help the person who murdered your innocent brother-in-law to escape justice?! DUH!!!! The film just looks cheap and seems to have been written by chimps--talented chimps, but chimps nonetheless. It's all formula and clichés and rather brainless to boot.